Fuse
by L'Archel-Hotishi
Summary: A string of events leads to a blackout which causes everyone at Enjaku Detective Agency to be locked in. Until the power comes back on, the agency is consumed in darkness. It could be days to weeks before the power comes back on. While being in such close quarters is stressful enough, Loki is afraid of his best friend Mayura discovering his divine secret.
1. Shadow

Title: Fuse

Pairing: None

Disclaimer: I claim no rights to the characters or settings in the series Matantei Loki Ragnarok. All rights go to the amazing Sakura Kinoshita. Please only credit me for the fanfiction itself.

Rating: T

Author's Note: Uh-oh. Power outages make for truly zany plots. And this time, it's not caused by Hati and Skoll. No, no.

**-START-**

The morning was as normal as any other. Yamino had awoken at dawn and, after getting dressed, knocked on his master's door to awaken him. While Loki went through his usual morning routine, Yamino started cooking breakfast. Ecchan would float around and mew happily at everyone in the agency. After floating around for a while, he'd usually stay with Yamino in the kitchen. Depending on if it was a weekday or not, Mayura would usually show up for food.

Since it was a Saturday, Loki had only begun to descend the stairs when he heard a knock from the door. The high-pitched voice told him exactly who it was. The trickster sighed deeply.

"Mayura's here," Loki called to his son in the kitchen.

"Master Loki, could you get the door?" Yamino's voice called from the kitchen. His question was followed by the familiar sizzle of pancake batter being poured into a pan.

The little boy nodded and continued to walk down the stairs. When he heard another deeper voice after Mayura's that belonged to a notorious thunder god, it was Yamino's turn to sigh.

While opening the front door, Loki realized something was peculiar about it. Just the other day, the agency had new electronic locks installed on all the doors to keep burglars out. The neighborhood Enjaku resided in had recently been faced with a rising crime rate due to the influx of more wealthy citizens into the local area. Loki read in the paper that it had something to do with the popularity of the infamous Kakinouchi family and the growth of their wealthy businesses. Regardless, Loki requested that Yamino order electronic locks and install them on every door in the agency. They also ran off the mansion's internal power, so there was no risk of the battery going out in the middle of the night. After all, it was much better to be safe than sorry. Even though they could use magic, Loki knew the power he and his family could use was limited due to the fact that they still resided on Earth. That made extra security even more essential. The trickster couldn't believe he'd forgotten about it. He quickly punched in the security code he and Yamino had agreed on and heard the electronic box beep pleasantly. He opened the door to find both Mayura and Narugami standing on the front porch. Both were rocking back and forth anxiously.

"Hey Loki," the teenage girl said, patting his head or reddish hair. "Fancy seeing you this early! Usually Mr. Yamino is the one to answer the door."

"Yeah," Narugami said, pushing his way past the miniature detective and charging towards the kitchen. "That's because he's busy cooking! What's Four-Eyes cooking this morning, Loki?"

"I'm not sure," he replied in annoyance, gesticulating for Mayura to enter the mansion before shutting the front door firmly. The paintings on the wall rattled slightly. "Don't pester him too much. Despite the fact that he cooks for you, he is rather terrified of you."

"I know," Narugami said with a wicked grin as he tossed Mjollnir over his shoulder and sprinted into the kitchen. Mayura followed suit and dashed after him energetically, ready to feast upon the sweets Yamino had prepared. The young boy slowly tottered into the kitchen and sat down at the table. After Yamino had placed a steaming cup of tea in front of him, the boy opened the newspaper and began to read the latest articles. In no time, he was so engrossed in reading that he was able to ignore the uncultured sounds of Thor shoving one pancake after another down his throat. Mayura talked with Yamino, thanking him repeatedly and telling him how delicious the food was. The two carried on a peaceful conversation while Loki kept on reading the newspaper.

Again, a morning like any other.

Loki eyes scanned the sentences at record speed._ "…due to the district's severe dislike of the proposed tax referendum, it is unlikely the board will vote in favor of…"_

The next few words were almost lost on Loki as each light in the kitchen flickered dangerously.

"…_the new proposition."_

Total blackness.

Mayura screamed and Thor, with a mouth full of food, almost toppled backwards in his chair. It was only dark for a few seconds before a match was struck by Yamino. He lit a candle in the middle of the table and held it upwards. "Is everyone alright?" the young man asked.

Everyone nodded in unison. Mayura was decently scared while Thor and Loki were grimacing bitterly in the obsidian shroud that consumed the mansion.

He used the glow from the candle to illuminate everyone's face. As soon as it was confirmed that everyone was okay, the butler lit every candle in the room. Mayura went to the attached dining room and opened the curtains. In no time, the pitch black room was flooded with natural light and everything was illuminated. Despite that, the trickster was still peeved. "Huh? A blackout at this time of day? It's barely past nine o'clock!"

"It is summer time," Mayura said slowly, looking around the room with wide eyes. "People are using air conditioning all the time."

"Ah man," Narugami said in despair. "If there's no power then that means all the food in the fridge will spoil. What a waste!"

While the thunder god ground his hands against his cheeks in aggravation at the thought of having to buy more food, Loki noticed Yamino seemed to be unusually on edge. The young man appeared to have something on his mind as he vanished from the kitchen and appeared to walk back to the front door. Everyone heard a few sharp cracks followed by a hollow bang. By the time the young man reappeared in the kitchen, he was visibly anxious. "Uh…Yamino?" Loki asked, approaching his son with a crooked smile.

Something had to be wrong. If Yamino was concerned about something, it was usually a big deal (unless it concerned a mail order item. Then Loki completely brushed off his distress.)

"Uh…everyone…please don't get angry…but I believe we're locked in."

The silence that consumed the room was thick. Loki blinked and, with great difficulty, formed words to describe his skepticism. "Huh? Locked in…? How can that be, Yamino?"

Mayura appeared to be just as perplexed as the little detective was. "Locked in? But that's impossible! What in the world does a power outage have to do with us being locked in the mansion?"

"The new locks lost power because they run off internal energy," Yamino said with a long exhale. Before he could ask another question, the little detective suddenly remembered all the wires that had been hooked up to ports in the walls to support the locks. It had taken a long time to handle all while trying to manage all the cases that came into the agency. Yamino continued to speak in a deflated mutter, "Anyway, it would appear that the doors won't open. When the power is shut off, they lock from both the inside and outside."

Everyone knew what was coming next. "Apparently the locks don't have a very effective failsafe mechanism. It would appear that we are all locked in until the power comes back on."

The serpent had barely finished his sentence before an enraged thunder god was inches away from his face. "W-What do you mean? Are you saying that I can't go to work until the power for the entire neighborhood comes back on?"

He nodded slowly.

"What if the power at my work is still on, huh? I'll be expected to be there!" he screamed, Mjollnir sparking dangerously in his hand. "There's no way for us to know how widespread the outage is!"

Mayura, who was also in distress, looked downwards to Loki. Her red eyes were brimming with the worry of a typical teenage girl with an overprotective father. "Hold on! If this really is a blackout, it could take days for the power to come back on, right?"

"Most likely," Yamino said, walking to the kitchen window and peering outside. As expected, the windows of each house were black with no curtains drawn. Some people had even gathered on their lawn in confusion. "From what I've been told, it can take between a few days or a few weeks for everything to go back to normal. I'm afraid we'll just have to wait it out."

Watching the color drain from Mayura's face was an amusing sight for Loki to witness. It almost made him forget about how pissed off he was at the situation. "Oh no!" the girl cried, turning to Thor. "I have to get home! My dad's going to be so angry when he finds out I left the house early to eat breakfast here!"

"Left early?" he asked, his hand ruffling his brown hair in confusion. "You didn't leave early. You sneaked out."

"Whatever! The point is it will be bad. _Really bad!_"

Her urgency made him flush a light shade of pink. Even a hardened god like Thor was not immune to the distressing image of a dear friend consumed with anxiety. The hazel-eyed god nodded in agreement. "Yeah! There has to be a way out!"

"Locks were installed on all the doors," Loki said. "And before you think about it, you will not be breaking any of my doors down. Unless, of course, you intend to pay for it."

Loki watched as both Mayura and Narugami slumped over in despair and clutched each other. It was Saturday, and both of them most likely had homework to finish. The teacher may or may not be forgiving. Yamino went to fetch some food from the pantry to console the two sobbing students. As each ate their way in various types of cookies and crackers, Loki pulled his son to the side.

"Yamino, what company did we order those locks from?" the detective asked, casting his gaze over to the small mechanical boxes attached to their ornate doors. Loki had thought they were odd before when he heard that they didn't run off batteries. However, having such a faulty design that it locked people in their own houses during blackouts was another matter entirely.

The young man pushed on his glasses.

"I'll have to go through the paperwork again," Yamino said, eyes looking to the ceiling in thought. The company name appeared to have slipped his mind. "But mark my words, Master Loki! Whoever they are, I will be sending them a very lengthy letter when the power comes back on! They should not be able to sell such faulty products. Of course, I will demand a refund as well!"

The young man crossed his arms and nodded his head in reassurance. The adamant tone of Yamino's voice combined with his gestures was so unintentionally adorable that Loki chuckled. "Yes, yes. Please do that."

His smile stayed on his face until the sound of Narugami and Mayura's weeping echoed through the hallway. Loki's visage changed from amusement to seriousness faster than one can blink an eye. "We do have a bigger problem, though," he muttered, looking up at a concerned Yamino. The two moved away from the kitchen and stood against that wall. Each dared to not speak in a tone higher than a muted whisper. Heaven forbid the two people in the next room hear them.

"I agree," the serpent said. "We're locked in here with a rambunctious god who originally came to Earth to kill us, and a girl who has no clue about who or what we really are. One might go as far as to call this a disaster."

The auburn haired boy nervously pulled at the bow around his neck and nodded. It was an understandably tense subject they were discussing, and it was making him jittery. The boy didn't even notice the consoling cries coming from Ecchan, who had taken refuge on top of the young boy's head.

"That's an understatement," the detective replied, green pupils narrowing as his looked around the silent corridor. "We need to be very careful until the power comes on. I'm not really worried about Thor. I know he scares you a bit…"

Yamino shivered in silent agreement.

"…But we really need to be careful around Mayura. She's a mortal, after all. If she found out who we were…"

The end of the sentence never came. A loud sound suddenly came from upstairs, over near the study. Loki and Yamino lifted their heads in the direction of the noise. The darkness was so thick up the staircase that it was impossible to see even with squinted eyes. It had sounded like a piece of furniture falling to the ground. It had even attracted the attention of Mayura and Narugami, who had rushed into the corridor from their places in the kitchen. "What was that?" Thor asked, Mjollnir grasped tightly in his hand. He pointed it up the stairs imposingly and used his most commanding voice to shout, "Hey, scum! Show yourself before me!"

"Nobody is here, Narugami…" Loki said, raking his hand through his hair in exasperation. "In fact, there's no way anyone could get in."

The explanation seemed accurate until there was another bang. At the top step, a small black shape appeared, and began to descend the stairs and head right toward them.

As it drew closer, all the stunned group could make out were two, shining eyes against the stark layer of blackness.

Mayura's shriek could have shattered windows.

**-END- **

I will now go back to my Golden Girls marathon. To be continued!

Thank you all so much for reading!


	2. Penumbra

Title: Fuse

Disclaimer: The characters and settings described in this fanfiction do not belong to me. Please credit Sakura Kinoshita for Mythical Detective Loki. Please credit me for the fanfiction itself.

**-START-**

"Is that…big brother?" Yamino asked, looking up the stairs in perplexity.

Mayura's scream had almost blocked out his voice, but by some miracle, the others heard. Narugami blinked and Loki turned his emerald gaze toward the shape and squinted.

Then it hit him. Fenrir hadn't been with them when the blackout had occurred. The first minutes of initial worry had blotted out the fact that Fenrir had recently started living with them at Enjaku.

"Fenrir?" Loki called unsurely, "Is that you?"

The whole group paused and stared at the silent shape.

"Huh?" Narugami asked with wide eyes. "Your _what?_"

The black shape grew smaller and Loki was able to make out four tiny legs and a wagging tail. The glowing eyes also diminished in brightness and became normal. His round, grey orbs watered at the sight of his father and he rushed down the stairs.

Loki, sensing his son's fright, opened his arms to receive Fenrir's embrace.

Fenrir charged in Loki's direction and leaped into his arms. He shook like a leaf. "Daddy, daddy! The power went out while I was upstairs. I was all alone in the dark hallway!"

Mayura cooed at how adorable Fenrir was acting. Yamino rolled his eyes.

Fenrir saw the action and snapped at his younger brother angrily, causing the man to jump and take a cautionary step away from the black dog. It was better to be safe than sorry.

"I forgot that you were here, Fenrir," Loki said as he petted the top of the puppy's head fondly. "Were you all alone? My poor baby. Stay down here with us until the power comes back on. We'll need to save the candles until the blackout ends."

The small dog nodded and stayed put in the crook of Loki's arm as they traveled back into the kitchen. After Yamino found some bottled tea to serve from inside the pantry, everyone drank and gathered around a table close to the window. It was easier to use the natural daylight that to rely on too many candles. After all, chances were the blackout would go on for a few days. Even if it was possible for them to leave Enjaku, the stores would be flooded with people buying food and supplies.

Mayura went into the next room after she was finished snacking to use her cell phone. The best reception was in the corridor, and she needed to call her father and tell him not to worry. While she was gone, Narugami finished his drink and sauntered off somewhere else in the house with Mjollnir. It wasn't easy to distract Thor. His attention span was that of a goldfish. Only moments after being left alone, he'd wandered off to seek fun elsewhere. That left just Loki and his two family members in the kitchen. They talked of the situation as quietly as possible.

Yamino was calm and reserved, like normal. The miniature detective was beyond perplexed at the bizarre nature of the situation. Now that Fenrir was with his family, he seemed aloof and unafraid. He was, however, incredibly worried about the other two people in the mansion.

"But, Daddy…how are we going to keep Mayura from finding out your secret?" the puppy asked with a hint of concern. "She's so nosy! Even if you cover you're tracks, she'll just circle you until you drop a piece of useful info! You can't shake her!"

It was a rare occurrence that Yamino actually agreed with his elder brother. However, he was right, which was a rare occurrence. "He is correct, Master Loki."

Loki knew it was true. Slowly, he played with the bottle cap that had come with his tea bottle. With each sentence, he added additional pressure to the plastic. Eventually it began to turn white under his repeated act of strength. Even Loki's tension, while subdued, was still evident. "I know. She's not the most perceptive or bright girl in the world, but she is very curious about mysteries. To her, the events that happen around us must seem like the paranormal jackpot. We need to be very careful."

Both nodded.

It wasn't long before Narugami burst back into the room at top speed. His breathing was uneven, but there was a wide grin on his face. "H-Hey, guys! I thought you guys said there was a lock on every door. You said that, right?"

"Yes," Loki replied bluntly.

Mayura entered the kitchen again, cell phone in hand. There was a small beeping sound from the cellular device before she looked at Narugami's flushed face. "Huh? Narugami, what's wrong?"

"The lock on the back door is broken!" he said with a smile. Everyone seemed to perk up a bit at his promising words. While Loki appeared to also be skeptical, Narugami tried erasing his doubt by elaborating on what he saw. "You said that when the locks malfunction, they lock from the inside and outside. I tried pushing on the back door just out of curiosity…and it opened!"

The last two words grabbed Loki's attention immediately. Everyone ran to the back door to see if Narugami was telling the truth. Once they reached the back door, the sight was promising. The door was indeed ajar and led out to the garden.

"This is great!" Mayura cheered, jumping into Thor's arms enthusiastically. "Although I am a little sad to leave before anything mysterious happened, I'm so relieved! I better hurry home before my dad gets really worried!"

The two rushed out the door before Loki could stop there. Instead, the boy knifed his fingers through his hair and slowly went back inside. Meanwhile, Fenrir looked up at Yamino with curiosity. "Hey, snake. We still have that concrete fence, right?"

Yamino nodded slowly and followed Loki, bracing himself for the aggravated screams that would follow seconds later.

The deafening sound was indescribable. The only thing Loki could do to escape it was to go to his study and leave the students to mourn their lost opportunity. Yamino followed suit.

The fence was far from a serious obstacle. Narugami could have blown it to pieces with one swing while every member of Loki's family could have leapt or flown over it with ease. Mayura was the real problem. They had to keep their divine powers a secret from the young woman. If anyone left, even while she wasn't watching, there was a chance she'd figure out the people were leaving somehow. Daidouji also had a habit of being…well, _nosy. _The girl didn't solve any mysteries, but she did always notice them.

"We might as well just stay put," Loki said slowly, watching as Yamino painstakingly lit every candle in the study. Nighttime was approaching, and the agency turned into a catacomb when the sun set. "It's too risky to try and leave to take Mayura home. She's not that bright, but she would definitely notice is we used any sort of magic."

"We'll see how long this blackout lasts," Yamino said in agreement. "After all, it may only take a few days for the power to come back on!"

Loki sighed. He envied his son. He always tried to remain optimistic, no matter the situation. It was a skill he hadn't been fortunate enough to develop personally. The trickster had his bouts of silliness, but also equal amounts of sarcasm, bitterness, and bitchiness. While he handled stressful situations with poise and ease, it was always less than pleasant for everyone involved. Thankfully, Yamino seemed to be keeping Mayura happy and Thor somewhat distracted. Both were incredibly disappointed by the false lead, but at least they were sedated for the time being.

"Daddy, what are we going to do if that mystery girl has to stay tomorrow too?" the puppy asked his father with wide, adorable eyes.

"We'll just have to…_put up with it_," Loki exhaled, rubbing the puppy's head. "We're all tired. Yamino's going to try and research who we bought those door locks from, so tomorrow we can try and break out."

The dog seemed satisfied with the answer and, within a few minutes, curled up in his father's lap and started to sleep. Loki managed a weak smile and carried him off to the soft doggy bed that sat near his bedroom door. After Fenrir was dropped off, Yamino pointed out that it would be best to decide upon room arrangements for the next few days. Loki had been incredibly worried until Yamino explained his plan with more depth.

"I was thinking that they could stay in rooms near yours, Master Loki," the serpent proposed cheerfully. "After all, you and Mr. Narugami are good friends. Also, I believe Miss Mayura would prefer it if you were nearby as well."

There weren't enough sedatives in the world to make Loki's stress dissipate. After a long sigh, he reluctantly agreed. "Okay. Sounds good. Show them to their rooms. In order to save our supplies, we should think about going to bed earlier. We don't want to run out of candles, after all. Chances are the stores have already been drained…"

Yamino nodded and set off to grab Narugami and Mayura. If he recalled correctly, he'd left them in the living room.

As he entered, their deflated aura was as palpable as the darkness of the building. He felt bad for the two as he gazed upon their slumped forms. After all, they had almost been able to leave. It must have been even worse for Thor. If it hadn't been for Mayura's presence, he could have busted out easily. Any of them could.

With a loud clap, Yamino managed to get the two's attention. "Alright, enough moping! Come on, I'll show you both to your rooms. After some sleep, we'll all feel better."

With that, the mansion was consumed with silence for the first night.

**-END-**

Work. Doctor visit. More work. UGHHHHH. Summer didn't use to be stressful...

Sorry for the late (and lazy) chapter. Things will pick up, I promise! :)

Thanks for reading! Drop a review, if you've got the time.


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